This invention relates to a connection device for a suspension assembly, and more particularly, the invention relates to an improved suspension seat and axle arrangement for securing suspension components to an axle.
Suspension seats are used to clamp suspension components together such as for clamping suspension spring brackets to a rear axle housing. Typically, a pair of seats are arranged on either side of the housing and a U-bolt is used to secure and clamp the seats about the housing. The clamps frequently loosen over time, which may damage the axle housing and related suspension components unless the fasteners are tightened.
One solution to the above problem has been to weld the seats to the housing. However, welding is a rather expensive process and the weld may break. Another solution has been to utilize locating features between the seats and the axle housing to ensure that the axle and seats do not move relative to one another in the event that the clamps loosen. The locating features add cost to the suspension assembly and may require a weld or costly feature be added to the axle housing. Finally, a design has been proposed to concentrate the clamping forces in the corners of the axle housing to introduce compressive forces in the sides of the housing. However, the seat assembly is rather expensive and utilizes five separate components to form the seat. Furthermore, the seat components engage the sides of the housing which tends to introduce clamping forces only in the vertical direction similar to the prior art. The lower seat had utilized angled surfaces that engage a pair of intermediate lower seat portions that are in contact with the corners and portions of sides of the housing. Therefore, what is needed is a more cost effective seat assembly that creates compressive forces in the vertical and horizontal sides of the housing.